Volume 88 | Issue 3 | obiter-dicta.ca
The Definitive Source for Osgoode News since 1928
Monday, September 29, 2014
BEYOND FERGUSON
the human cost
of racial profiling
ê A scene from Ferguson, Missouri that could just as easily have been from the G20 Summit in Toronto.
andrea anderson › contributor
O
n august 9 an unarmed young, black
male was shot at least six times - twice
in the head - by a white police officer.
For hours, the body was left in the street,
uncovered and uncared for. The days following the
shooting were marked with an explosion of moral
outrage and public anguish. Widespread suspension of dissent and democratic rights through criminal sanctions would ensue. The police’s paramilitary
mindset and tactics combined with the slow, selective, and confusing release of information surrounding the events leading up to and after the shooting
only served to enflame the situation.
Today, for the most part, the public protesting
has stopped. The images of tear gas, riot gear, and
the reports of use of rubber bullets, suppression of
information, and the arresting of civilians and journalists is, somewhat, a distant memory. America’s
public dialogue surrounding the events in Ferguson,
Missouri continues however. Allegations of a history
of racial profiling and discussions around the culture
of policing, the use of force, and the implications on
equality have emerged. On one hand is the debate
on whether the militarization of the police was an
appropriate response to contain civil unrest. Others
focus on the issue of economics, namely, that the protest was borne out of anger over the racial disparities
in income. And still, there are those in the middle,
who claim that there is “no racial divide” in Ferguson
at all. In any case, it is almost understood that the
death of Michael Brown, at the very least, required a
real conversation about the state of race relations in
the United States.
To the Canadian public, in general, the discourse in
» see ferguson, page 16
In this Issue ...
editorial
Start-up Summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
news
Anishinaabe Law Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
opinion
Scottish Referendum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
special report
Policing & Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
arts & culture
t i ff Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10